Massive Calif. pot company tries to silence explosive LA Times investigation

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Cannabis

Massive Calif. pot company tries to silence explosive LA Times investigation

By Lester Black
Dec 13, 2023

One of the largest cannabis retail chains in California threatened to sue the Los Angeles Times for defamation for publishing a story regarding alleged ties between the company and illegal cannabis sales.

The story, published Tuesday, found that holding companies owned by Tony Huang, a co-owner of the cannabis company Stiiizy, have owned nine different buildings that were used to house illegal cannabis retailers. The buildings have been the subject of multiple lawsuits, including one from the city of Compton that accused Huang of being “known for his serial operations of various illegal cannabis dispensaries," according to the Times.

Huang, through a spokesperson, told the Times that buildings were used as illegal pot stores without his knowledge and that he’d tried to evict the stores once he learned of them. Stiiizy did not immediately respond to SFGATE's request for comment.

Prior to publishing, a lawyer for Huang and Stiiizy sent the Times a cease-and-desist letter and threatened to sue the Times for defamation for publishing the story. The lawyer claimed that a former executive at Stiiizy had “tricked” the Times into writing the story, the paper said, though the Times wrote that they’d had no contact with the executive prior to the lawyer reaching out.

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[ificandream]

1. They supposedly "tricked" the Times into publishing the story?

I would guess that a judge or jury wouldn't give a friendly nod to that deceptive practice.